Cal plans The Play 30th festivities

Updated 11:58 pm, Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The head coach who had little to do with the winning kickoff return and the player who had plenty to do with it both will be recognized at Saturday's 115th Big Game as Cal celebrates the 30th anniversary of what became known as The Play.

Joe Kapp, in his first year as Cal's head coach in 1982, and defensive back Kevin Moen, a senior on that team, will be at Memorial Stadium along with members of the '82 team in town for a reunion.

During the game, three video shorts recalling the 1982 Big Game will be shown on the stadium's new scoreboards, one featuring a fan's perspective, another on KGO Radio's Joe Starkeyand his famous call of The Play, and an interview of Ron Riveraand Richard Rodgers, Cal teammates 30 years ago and now coaching colleagues on the Carolina Panthers.

The flying professor: Also in line for recognition is Berkeley physics professor Alex Filippenko, who flew with the Blue Angels during Fleet Week in order to gain knowledge about the effects of G forces on the human body.

Nearing a record: Keenan Allen, who has 196 career receptions, on the possibility of surpassing Geoff McArthur's school record of 202: "It's definitely something I look forward to, now that it's out there. Hopefully, it will happen in this game."

Axe the question: Senior tackle Matt Summers-Gavin is 1-2 in the Big Game, with the win coming his freshman year in 2009.

"You feel horrible when (Stanford) takes the Axe," he said. "We need that Axe. We need to bring it home to Berkeley."